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News & ArtsWednesday, February 4, 2009
Media Digital Television Delayed
Posted by Dominic Holden on Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 2:00 PM
The conversion is now set for June 12:
The House today has voted to delay the nation's transition to digital television by four months, less than two weeks before broadcasters were scheduled to turn off traditional analog signals and air only digital programming on Feb. 17.
I've opined on this subject before, saying viewers hardest hit by the television conversion will be the poor and the uneducated—and some would be left without media access. But I have this sneaking suspicion that, come June, folks will trot out the old same arguments—converter boxes are too expensive, the coupons for digital converter boxes didn't reach every person who needed one, Congress didn't sufficiently prepare, etc. But by now, we've all heard the warning shot, and its incessant echoes. If some folks aren't ready by June, too bad.
2
No, until the freed up spectrum is sufficiently stifled by anti-free access legislation, the big media companies aren't going to let this transition happen.
3
If you aren't prepared for the transition, it's likely you're the sort who'd blame the new administration their new favorite, and only, TV show is snow. Obama's teem knows this.
The push back isn't a bad idea - everyone should know by now. Like you said, "too bad" if not.
The push back isn't a bad idea - everyone should know by now. Like you said, "too bad" if not.
4
It's not just about educating people about converter boxes, it's about educating them about how to properly set up their digital tv, how to deal with digital cliffs, etc.
I know of one town that is 40+ miles from the main network transmitters. Some of the people there are now realizing they need a decent antenna to get around the digital cliffs.
Then there are the people who have a digital tv but are getting only analog channels on it because they haven't done the scanning properly. So they think they're getting digital when they're not.
I know of one town that is 40+ miles from the main network transmitters. Some of the people there are now realizing they need a decent antenna to get around the digital cliffs.
Then there are the people who have a digital tv but are getting only analog channels on it because they haven't done the scanning properly. So they think they're getting digital when they're not.
5
The problem is that they're not explaining the transition well at all. I have a good friend who thought he was fine -- he steals cable -- until I told him that it's gong away, too Unemployed, he has no idea what he'll do without his daily Ellen fix.
6
Damm you Congress, now I have to listen to those announcements until June. Those who have not got the converters by now should not watch tv!
7
I have to agree with #6. Just do the damn conversion. If you are not ready for it at this point; you don't need television and probably need to spend more time reading something.
8
The poor and uneducated are the people who most need to have their television cut off. And if you're poor and uneducated, it's not likely you're watching the McLaughlin Group or Nightly Business Report, so it's no matter that TV is your only "media access" you'd be better off not watching reruns of Jericho on the CW network.
There, I said it.
There, I said it.
9
@1: The government does not own the airwaves. Neither do broadcasters. Both lease the radio spectrum from the people. we have a right to determine how that spectrum is used.
10
#2 - you might be right, but there's an even more depressing - albeit a pretty bougi issue - future in manufactures phasing out "dumb" video delivery interfaces for DRM enabled HDMI (or whatever is next). The potential to annoy the shit out of paying television subscribers is going to go through the roof.
12
Nothing would educate these people faster than having their magic box go dark.
Rip the god damn band aid off now.
Rip the god damn band aid off now.
13
@8 You nailed it. Is it really a big deal if the unwashed masses can't watch the new Gossip Girl every week? I think not.
14
@10: That happened before when they phased out direct conversion features on cable boxes. Those old slider converters would be sufficient to this day if the cable companies didn't want to pile expensive features and content delivery onto their signals.
Basically, they made it harder for you to get your favorite premium channels with no good reason aside from the possibility to provide exciting and new ways to charge you for stuff.
Basically, they made it harder for you to get your favorite premium channels with no good reason aside from the possibility to provide exciting and new ways to charge you for stuff.
15
I mean what did people do in the 50s for media access without a TV?
After June, turn off the TV and turn on the radio.
After June, turn off the TV and turn on the radio.
16
Oh, and this won't happen indefinitely; otherwise the government is going to have to write an almost $10 billion check to Verizon (plus more to the other carriers who won auctions) to buy the spectrum licenses back, plus whatever Verizon and the other carriers decide to sue for.
17
A quite reasonable delay - and also an excellent kick in the teeth to right-wing fuckwad (and soon to be ex) FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin.
18
@5 Huh? If you are receiving your television by any other method than over the air signal you are fine. As long as the cable company doesn't kill his illegal connection he'll continue stealing cable with no interruption.
19
Who needs 159 shitty digital channels of money-powered visual garbage? Seriously, current analog broadcast television is little more than pablum for an unimaginative and sedentary population.
Remember, Stalin once said, "If I could control the medium of the American motion picture, I would need nothing else to convert the entire world to communism."
That power was rapidly overcome by that of television... and look who controls the medium of television: Capitalists.
coupons for digital converter boxes didn't reach every person who needed one
Who needs 159 shitty digital channels of money-powered visual garbage? Seriously, current analog broadcast television is little more than pablum for an unimaginative and sedentary population.
Remember, Stalin once said, "If I could control the medium of the American motion picture, I would need nothing else to convert the entire world to communism."
That power was rapidly overcome by that of television... and look who controls the medium of television: Capitalists.
20
As a technology, digital TV doesn't really offer much advantage over current analog technology. Those new digital channels might be sharper and clearer, but if they don't tune in right, they won't tune in at all. Most people will see a significant decrease in the number of channels they receive. People who are concerned about the signal quality have cable or satellite anyway.
Newer technology does not necessarily mean better. Why do hardcore audio enthusiasts overwhelmingly prefer records over CDs? Because analog is intrinsically a superior technology for some applications. Digital can be more versatile, but it makes everything more complicated and less reliable.
Newer technology does not necessarily mean better. Why do hardcore audio enthusiasts overwhelmingly prefer records over CDs? Because analog is intrinsically a superior technology for some applications. Digital can be more versatile, but it makes everything more complicated and less reliable.
21
I got my damn converter box, like all responsible non-cable-havers. But I can't use it unless I spend $$$ to install a new roof antenna--all I get now is 5 versions of the God channel (the one with the pink-haired lady with the 5 eyelashes), and two channels of Fox. Lame.
I LOVE Nova and The McLaughlin Group (um, and Gossip Girl too, I admit it), and will be pretty irked if I can't watch them.
I'm not poor or uneducated, but I never know if I will get laid off tomorrow and become functionally broke. So the idea of spending $$ that could go to my emergency fund on a new antenna that may or may not let me watch my cherished PBS stations is slightly nauseating.
I LOVE Nova and The McLaughlin Group (um, and Gossip Girl too, I admit it), and will be pretty irked if I can't watch them.
I'm not poor or uneducated, but I never know if I will get laid off tomorrow and become functionally broke. So the idea of spending $$ that could go to my emergency fund on a new antenna that may or may not let me watch my cherished PBS stations is slightly nauseating.
22
Given that television is primarily a marketing outlet, I wonder why we don't expect the marketing departments of our beloved corporations to pay us to watch the the damn thing and supply us with free HD teevee machine upgrades.
23
I miss when TV had just a few channels and one wire to connect to an antenna that picked up free (!) signal. Why did TV get to be such a fucking pain in the ass?
Cable TV was originally supposed to offset subscription fees by giving us commercial-free 24/7 programming. Remember when cable networks had no ads? Try finding a show in between the ads on any given station now. Digital cable so far seems mostly to mean a lot of super-compressed, pixelly channels that degrade at random, mid-broadcast. Late night Adult Swim on Comcast is pretty much the same picture quality that rabbit ear antennas used to pick up on analog sets. We're paying for less than we used to get for free.
Bare minimum, we should get over the air free channels like PBS, since we pay for those by taxes to begin with. Why are taxpayers subsidizing coupons to provide access to digital cable at all? Who authorized this colossal, ridiculous giveaway to telecommunications?
Meanwhile, veryone's filling landfills up with their big CRT monitors and TV sets with tubes, chock full of hazardous waste, so they can trade up to LCD monitors and screens that use at least 30% more electricity. Progress!
Cable TV was originally supposed to offset subscription fees by giving us commercial-free 24/7 programming. Remember when cable networks had no ads? Try finding a show in between the ads on any given station now. Digital cable so far seems mostly to mean a lot of super-compressed, pixelly channels that degrade at random, mid-broadcast. Late night Adult Swim on Comcast is pretty much the same picture quality that rabbit ear antennas used to pick up on analog sets. We're paying for less than we used to get for free.
Bare minimum, we should get over the air free channels like PBS, since we pay for those by taxes to begin with. Why are taxpayers subsidizing coupons to provide access to digital cable at all? Who authorized this colossal, ridiculous giveaway to telecommunications?
Meanwhile, veryone's filling landfills up with their big CRT monitors and TV sets with tubes, chock full of hazardous waste, so they can trade up to LCD monitors and screens that use at least 30% more electricity. Progress!
26
I hear digital TV isn't as good as analog at getting around buildings and hills. With Seattle full of buildings and hills, and the TV signals in my public housing building lacking even in analog, I've decided to just forego TV altogether. If I really want to watch something, there's always Hulu.
27
@5: Huh? It's going to be at least until 2012 before cable companies stop pumping analog to those customers. There are many many cable customers who get "basic" cable without a box -- they don't need to lease a box for $10+/month, but they don't get a billion channels and all the extra features.
For those curious, the following site will let you find out how far away digital transmitters are to you. (Just put in a nearby address and skip the email/phone fields, etc.). Fox is the farthest from Seattle and 30% of the time I have troubles picking get a digital signal.
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.asp…
For those curious, the following site will let you find out how far away digital transmitters are to you. (Just put in a nearby address and skip the email/phone fields, etc.). Fox is the farthest from Seattle and 30% of the time I have troubles picking get a digital signal.
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.asp…
28
I tried over-the-air DTV a few years ago, when living in Fremont. I could see the Queen Anne towers from my deck, but the DTV transmitters aren't there: they're in Bellevue & Kitsap. I could get a station for about 10 minutes, tops, if at all. If you are expecting to get over-the-air DTV in the greater Puget Sound region, forget it. Now. Forever. The technology works fine in Chicago, but it will never work here.
I want to know which industry shelled out the big bucks to bribe Congress into this delay. ComCast, DirectTV & BestBuy should have been paying to have the date moved up! Once people find out that no antenna will get them the channels they once had, they'll have to switch to cable or dish. Once people who can get an OTA signal find out that DTV doesn't necessarily mean HDTV (hello KIRO!), they'll go to BestBuy and buy a new HDTV box.
I am going to guess it was broadcaster's lobbyists that made the payoff. Most of the network-affiliated local stations in America got their start with a virtual government giveaway of a broadcast license (LBJ was famous for strongarming these for Lady Bird's biz), and as such, have become used to squeezing every borrowed dollar. The longer they can continue to use their older analog equipment (20+ years old in many cases), the longer they can keep cash in pockets. The less money they have to sink into newer digital equipment, the better. Advertizing fees don't change from analog to digital, so why should station owners have to pony up the funds for new equipment?
Forget that this transition has been 10 years in the making. Forget that market share has been dropping for the past 20, thanks to cable. Just focus on monthly profit margins and your expectation to never have to pay to be in business.
Oh, and KIRO: Every NFL game has been filmed in HD for several seasons. The ONLY REASON you broadcast non-HD games is that you are too cheap to pay for the HD broadcast. You obviously do not understand the economics of NFL entertainment. There is huge money to be made with that content!
More...
I want to know which industry shelled out the big bucks to bribe Congress into this delay. ComCast, DirectTV & BestBuy should have been paying to have the date moved up! Once people find out that no antenna will get them the channels they once had, they'll have to switch to cable or dish. Once people who can get an OTA signal find out that DTV doesn't necessarily mean HDTV (hello KIRO!), they'll go to BestBuy and buy a new HDTV box.
I am going to guess it was broadcaster's lobbyists that made the payoff. Most of the network-affiliated local stations in America got their start with a virtual government giveaway of a broadcast license (LBJ was famous for strongarming these for Lady Bird's biz), and as such, have become used to squeezing every borrowed dollar. The longer they can continue to use their older analog equipment (20+ years old in many cases), the longer they can keep cash in pockets. The less money they have to sink into newer digital equipment, the better. Advertizing fees don't change from analog to digital, so why should station owners have to pony up the funds for new equipment?
Forget that this transition has been 10 years in the making. Forget that market share has been dropping for the past 20, thanks to cable. Just focus on monthly profit margins and your expectation to never have to pay to be in business.
Oh, and KIRO: Every NFL game has been filmed in HD for several seasons. The ONLY REASON you broadcast non-HD games is that you are too cheap to pay for the HD broadcast. You obviously do not understand the economics of NFL entertainment. There is huge money to be made with that content!
29
@1
The public airwaves are national infrastructure and, yes, everyone has a right to access them. Maybe we should require people without new shoes to stay off the public sidewalks. Would that satisfy you?
The public airwaves are national infrastructure and, yes, everyone has a right to access them. Maybe we should require people without new shoes to stay off the public sidewalks. Would that satisfy you?
30
For the love of God why doesn't the government just hand out free converter boxes to everyone? Silly American government.
31
Juneteenth!
Freedom!
Give me your poor, your tired, your digitally unenhanced waiting to watch American Pie in ultra high definition ...
Freedom!
Give me your poor, your tired, your digitally unenhanced waiting to watch American Pie in ultra high definition ...
32
@28: "I tried over-the-air DTV a few years ago, when living in Fremont. ... If you are expecting to get over-the-air DTV in the greater Puget Sound region, forget it. Now. Forever."
Uh, because nothing ever improves over time? I get most of the DTV channels fine and I'm in greater Puget Sound region. The technology to send out signals has improved, the technology to receive the signals has improved, etc. Get with it.
Uh, because nothing ever improves over time? I get most of the DTV channels fine and I'm in greater Puget Sound region. The technology to send out signals has improved, the technology to receive the signals has improved, etc. Get with it.
33
Homer: What really burns me up is they didn't give us one word of warning.
Carl: What do you mean? They ran those TV commercials about it, and that big radio campaign.
Lenny: Don't forget the leaflets they dropped from the Space Shuttle, and the two weeks we all spent at digital TV camp.
/Yep, stole the joke. Twice, technically
Carl: What do you mean? They ran those TV commercials about it, and that big radio campaign.
Lenny: Don't forget the leaflets they dropped from the Space Shuttle, and the two weeks we all spent at digital TV camp.
/Yep, stole the joke. Twice, technically
34
The problems are going to be exactly the same 4 months from now, but at least the Feds will be able to say that they gave people a second chance.
There are millions of people who still don't understand what is going on, and who wouldn't dream of ever touching the wires on the back of their TVs themselves - think elderly widows. And they're going to be tremendously confused by having to use a new remote just to change the channel.
Hope I get to use my remaining expired coupon. The best DTV converter-box is the Channel Master CM-7000, when used with the S-video connection. I got mine via web-order, and Fry's carries them locally for $70.
There are millions of people who still don't understand what is going on, and who wouldn't dream of ever touching the wires on the back of their TVs themselves - think elderly widows. And they're going to be tremendously confused by having to use a new remote just to change the channel.
Hope I get to use my remaining expired coupon. The best DTV converter-box is the Channel Master CM-7000, when used with the S-video connection. I got mine via web-order, and Fry's carries them locally for $70.
35
Peoplehave known this day has been coming for at least five years. I have no sympathy for them. Basic cable is not that expensive. It cost more to fill up a tank of gas or drink a week's worth of espresso drinks.
36
at least according to one station here in Omaha, they're going ahead with the switch on February 17 regardless of the new deadline.
38
@32 Glad to hear it. My statement had more to do about the topography of the region, rather than the technology. Nearly 50 years later, and FM radio still is spotty in this region, so some things don't improve much over time.
Strength of signal increases will only do so much if you live in a valley. And remember, TV stations are trying to be as cheap as possible about buying new equipment. They know the majority of the viewers advertizers want already have cable, so why sock $10m into a stronger transmitter for widows & poor people?
Strength of signal increases will only do so much if you live in a valley. And remember, TV stations are trying to be as cheap as possible about buying new equipment. They know the majority of the viewers advertizers want already have cable, so why sock $10m into a stronger transmitter for widows & poor people?
39
elswinger spits out: "People have known this day has been coming for at least five years."
that's rubbish, unless by "this day" you meant just a general "someday there probably will be no more analog tv signals".
the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 wasn't passed until October of 2005. Are you claiming that more than five years ago people were aware of the 2/17/09 switchover?
and basic cable is expensive to some people. and btw, not everyone buys gas or drinks espresso.
that's rubbish, unless by "this day" you meant just a general "someday there probably will be no more analog tv signals".
the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 wasn't passed until October of 2005. Are you claiming that more than five years ago people were aware of the 2/17/09 switchover?
and basic cable is expensive to some people. and btw, not everyone buys gas or drinks espresso.
40
As easy as it was moving the country to the metric system in the 1970s. Thank God we finally completed that initiative.
If you give them a centimeter, they'll take a kilogram.
If you give them a centimeter, they'll take a kilogram.
42
I bought a digital converter box with the government coupon no problem. Some monkeys are probably up to the task. The other night I was surfing the web with the TV on in the background while the exact same hair replacement technology commercial came on for the millionth time. I grabbed a hammer and destroyed the converter box. It was harder than buying the thing. It was very sturdy. It took many blows to actually destroy it but it was worth the effort.
Lesson: fuck the fucking government and fuck television in it's broadcast form. It fucking sucks and is not at all worthy of being treated with the seriousness that it has been given thus far. We live in an age where information is abundant for both the rich and the poor. Go to the fucking library, pick a newspaper off the ground, talk to your fucking neighbor for a change. It's all very available.
Lesson: fuck the fucking government and fuck television in it's broadcast form. It fucking sucks and is not at all worthy of being treated with the seriousness that it has been given thus far. We live in an age where information is abundant for both the rich and the poor. Go to the fucking library, pick a newspaper off the ground, talk to your fucking neighbor for a change. It's all very available.
43
If the government makes the magic pictures stop, the people might start to wake up. That would be unacceptable.
44
I plan on breaking this nasty 50 year old habit on Feb. 17th or whenever. So bring it on digital. Please!
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